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Autonomy conferences adopt medical care proposal

Student-athletes support proposal that mandates expanded coverage

January 19, 2018 12:24pmMichelle Brutlag Hosick

On the floor of Thursday’s autonomy discussion forum, several of the voting student-athletes voiced support for a proposal that would require schools in the Atlantic Coast, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and Southeastern conferences to provide medical coverage for athletically related injuries for at least two years after a student graduates or leaves school.

All 65 schools in the five autonomy conferences, plus three student-athletes from each conference, will vote on the medical care proposal and other autonomy legislation at the Autonomy Business Session on Friday.

Taylor Ricci, a former gymnastics student-athlete at Oregon State, shared how her school supported her after she was injured while participating in her sport. Pac-12 rules already require schools to cover student-athlete injuries for a period after graduation.

“As a student coming from a Pac-12 institution, I cannot emphasize enough how important this proposal is,” Ricci, a pre-med student who graduated with a degree in exercise sport science. “This (shows schools place) the utmost importance on the welfare of student-athletes. I’m excited to see the rest of autonomy follow the Pac-12.”

The proposal, sponsored by the Big Ten and the Big 12, would give schools discretion regarding how to provide care. Schools would be relieved of the requirement if a student qualifies for the NCAA Catastrophic Insurance Program.

“As a student-athlete who had two surgeries in my career, having this assurance of medical care is critical,” said Brady Bramlett, former baseball student-athlete at Ole Miss. Bramlett, who chairs the national Division I Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, graduated with a degree in biology and is pursuing a master’s degree in integrated communications.

All 65 schools in the five autonomy conferences, plus three student-athletes from each conference, will vote on the medical care proposal and other autonomy legislation at the Autonomy Business Session on Friday.

The following chart lists the proposals and voting results.

Proposal

Sponsor

What it would do?

Action

2017-95 — Defining relationships for benefit purposes

Atlantic Coast Conference

Would define the term “significant other” and replace “spouse” with “significant other.”

Would amend proposal 2017-106 to allow, once every four years, teams participating in a regular-season tournament during the holiday period, to forgo the three required days off during the holiday period.